I'm a newbie. I've been reading many posts in the towing thread to help me make a decision on a purchase of a travel trailer. I've been reading the towing bible. looked at a used dutchman sport today. 05, 26 ft 4300uvw. It seemed a bit much for the truck. I've been looking at a new Grey Wolf or Salem in the 17 to 19 ft range, both in the mid to high 3000s. Seems more reasonable so as the towing guru says. I can enjoy the camping trip, not worrying about the day I have to hitch up and drive. Comments welcomed

A couple of months ago I was in the same place. I ended up buying a 22ft Starcraft Hybrid 21SS0. (27+ft when beds are folded out front/rear). It's under 4k dry and around 5k wet. Sleeps 6 comfortably. Says 8, but that's a joke.

After my first few tows I feel like I made a good decision. The truck tows it well, but with the family and all my gear loaded I don't think I'd want to go any bigger with this truck.

I've seen posts of people with larger trailers behind a Tacoma here, but it's gotta be scary and feel quite heavy. I guess if you live in flat country with no traffic a little heavier is doable...

Your rationale is the exact reason I went with a 21 ft trailer. My friends have large travel trailers and boats, and they bitch every time they have to hook up to tow them. Mine is 3700# dry. I tow in "4" and get about 10 mpg.

I sometimes like to leave flat Fl and go to the mountains - Tenn. way. Fall Creek Falls is a family favorite, but it is a climb.I don't want to hurt the tranny getting there. I figure with trailer, people and gear to still leave myself an extra 1000lbs wiggle room. So 4000 - to 4300 true uvw is as high as I want to go. replies welcome

I've looked at about every model rv there is. Most have the same few floor plans. I wanted something that had a bed and dinette and couch, but under 4000 and not to long. That really narrowed my search to three Salem cruise lite, grey wolf and jayco. All three have a model that are about 4000, 22ft long, with couch dinette bed plus b-room and kitchen.Found good pricing at PECO in Atlanta,a firm in hamilton Ohio and Direct RV. So that's where I am know.

I just bought a Crossroads Sunset Trails 17CK. The beauty of a hybrid is the large amount of floor space, at a reasonable towing size. I traded our popup, it was too much work, and too much hassle from rain.
Oh Yeah - UVW of 2900#, GVW 3500#

Wow great thread! I'm interested in the same thing, i've been looking at some trailers and was wondering what the taco would pull too. My only concern was that i can't bring the quad with, and I think the toyhaulers are to heavy. Thinking on a motorhome!!

I thought about the hybrid, looked at many models went to rv shows and got price quotes. I liked the Starcraft 19 ft model. They do have many great features, but there is a common issue of leakeage in the front bunk that seems to occur on some. If I could have found one with a rear bunk and no front bunk, I would have grabbed it. The Salem Cruise Lite had the same low weight, sleeps 7 (if three are short), and wasn't too long though it is three feet longer than a closed hybrid,and several feet shorter than an open hybrid.